It was quite a day for Samiran, 63, who sells stickers on the sidewalks of Jl. Palmerah Barat in Gelora, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday. Not only was he attracting fewer customers than usual, but vendors who he used to work alongside had left the area.

'Many of them moved to other places or closed down after Public Orders Agency [Satpol PP] personnel evicted us two weeks ago,' he said.

Samiran, who claimed he had been stationed in the area since the 1980s, said, however, that he had chosen to keep running his business as he was used to eviction notices.

He said he refused to relocate to nearby markets and willingly took the risk of his merchandise getting confiscated by Satpol PP personnel.

'A subdistrict official promised us that we would be relocated to either Pasar Pisang (Banana market) or the nearby Palmerah market. But I don't want to,' he said.

Samiran said he was certain that his business would go south if he relocated to a market. People would not get out of their cars to buy items, let alone walk to the markets, he said.

'I don't mind playing hide-and-seek with Satpol PP personnel as long as I can earn a living here,' he said, adding that he would only agree to relocate if the administration provided him with a kiosk right on the street.

As many as 210 street vendors who had occupied the sidewalks of Jl. Palmerah Barat, Jl. Palmerah Selatan and Jl. Palmerah Utara, were evicted two weeks ago.

While some vendors willingly moved to the nearby markets, others preferred to remain at their old stations to not lose their customers.

Another vendor, Nuridin, said he was pessimistic about the idea of moving to a market.

'I think it will be hard to get as many customers as I get here,' he said.

The 40-year-old said he could sell as much as Rp 1 million (US$87) a day worth of cigarettes and snacks, taking home Rp 50,000 to Rp 100,000.

He said he could fulfill the basic needs of his four children who lived in his hometown of Tegal, Central Java, from his small sidewalk stall.

He said, however, that he would test the waters at the new location offered by the administration. 'But if [the market] is not lucrative enough, I will come back here,' he said.

At the moment, Nuridin is selling his items in a cart at his old space as his booth was confiscated by the Satpol PP.

Gelora subdistrict head Raimah said she and her subordinates would continue to convince street vendors to move to the markets.

'Both markets have lots of spaces and state-owned market operator PD Pasar Jaya has agreed to give six months free of rent,' she said.

Raimah said that while persuading the vendors, her subordinates would keep regulating vendors stationed on sidewalks.

'They cannot run their business on sidewalks or roadsides anymore as they are for pedestrians,' she said.

University of Indonesia sociologist Johannes Frederik Warouw said that street vendors were used to picking up customers, not waiting for them. 'The city administration should consider this before trying to regulate them.'

He also suggested the city administration educate vendors to sell only quality products.

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